PSV operators concerned about crime

Concerns about security and COVID-19 still have the transport sector uneasy and are affecting how they do business, says Chairman of the Alliance Owners of Public Transport (AOPT) Roy Raphael.

He told Barbados TODAY that despite recent assurances from Government and law enforcement officials that the crime situation was being addressed, operators were still on edge.

“The crime situation continues to be an issue for our operators out there, including the taxis. We understand the Government [and] the policies they would have put in place and so on, but we want a national discussion on the crime situation in this country and the way forward,” he said.

“A number of people would have called us and told us that there are few taxi operators who do not stop for them on the road anymore. If you go into Bridgetown after six o’clock you don’t really see a taxi.

“If you stop me as a taxi driver, I ain’t going to stop, that is the truth, because I am not going to expose myself to danger. Basically, I don’t know who you are so, therefore, we are saying that the Government needs to do something. It is affecting the way we do business, particularly those persons who work at night,” Raphael added.

Meanwhile, the AOPT chairman reminded commuters that under the current COVID-19 protocols, all persons using public transportation are still required to wear masks.

He said his organisation still receives many reports of passengers not complying, and given the slight rise in COVID-19 cases abroad people here need to take the matter more seriously.

“A lot of persons do not understand the COVID-19 regulations. The Government said that mask wearing was stopped and they just heard stop and everybody stopped wearing masks. It is a concern to us, not only on the public service vehicles (PSVs) but also on the Transport Board buses because we are seeing a lot of people on these buses not wearing masks, and there has been a spike in the COVID-19 pandemic [cases] recently.

“We are asking commuters to comply with the law,” he pleaded.

The AOPT official also expressed hope that upcoming improvements to the island’s public transportation system will include additional training opportunities for PSV operators.

“We are one of the people who believe that operators should continue to be trained and retrained…. You should not have operators just getting a bag or getting on a bus and working. They need to understand the law, and that is where the problems are. I am hoping with the new policy coming to public transport, that we should see more operators being trained,” Raphael added.

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb